1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of thermometers, and more particularly to the field of medical thermometers employing a thermal probe for measurement of a patient's temperature, although it is equally applicable to other temperature measurement fields.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic thermometers generally offer a great number of advantages over conventional glass and mercury thermometers for use in the health care field. Among the advantages of electronic thermometers are the elimination of sterilization procedures for glass thermometers, made possible by the use of disposable covers; elimination of the possibility of broken glass if a thermometer is dropped; a digital temperature display to eliminate temperature reading errors; and with proper circuit design and calibration, higher accuracy and resolution is possible with accurate measurement and display of tenths of a degree Fahrenheit being easily attainable.
Additionally, an oral measurement can be easily made without causing discomfort to the patient if the probe section is formed from a soft flexible material such as rubber, providing a shape that is well-fitted to the mouth. Accordingly, such as electronic clinical thermometer including mouth-friendly flexible probes have been made.
Typically, a metal tip member, such as made from a stainless steel, is adhered to the end of flexible probe body by epoxy resin. However, the adhesion of the epoxy resin to the flexible probe body is poor because of their material property, so that the flexible probe body easily peels away.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,039, thermometers provide insert which has a scabrous outer (or perimeter) surface and may be held or secured within passageway of probe stem by mechanical friction. Insert is secured within passageway by a molding weld. Where probe stem is made of hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, insert is preferably an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). Nevertheless, these thermometers still have some issues such as high process complexity, high fabrication cost, and limitation of materials selected for intermolding compatibility with probe stem.